The Guardian
by Kazekage-Hime
Summary: A supernatural battle is brewing, and this is just the beginning of the end. After her death, a shinobi becomes a special guardian to one of the world's future saviors.
1. Prologue: Beauty and the Babe

**The Guardian  
**

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Prelude

_Beauty and the Babe  
_

* * *

She thought that death would be a very painful thing. Now that she was here it was rather quite peaceful. Despite her urge to make jokes to herself about how nice it was not to be constantly pestered by her teammates Mihari kept silent. If she had been taken down so easily then what _had_ happened to the others. After five years of running amok with them the thought that they, too, had met their end made it hard to relax. Yeah, sure, it seemed very pleasant here, but Kenzo had a family already. What would his wife do without him? And Shae? She had her sister.

_Your friends are well._

Mihari spun in the darkness around her, searching for the source of the mysterious "voice." She could swear she just heard a voice in her head and it had startled her. It was rare for someone to sneak up on her. In the darkness her hearing was always more pronounced. Maybe all that was lost after you died?

_You're talents are very much intact. If they were not, then we would not need you._

"Need me? For what?" Her eyes narrowed, as if trying to peer into the blank expanse. She knew she would not see anything. Whatever was good enough to sneak up on her in the dark would be good enough to stay out of sight. It didn't seem to want to be found. Still, that didn't stop her suspicious and cautious nature. "Who are you?"

_I am you._

"Elaborate."

_Very well. I am what you will be. Soon you will see. Your death came exactly as it should. But we do not have very much time. Come._

"Come where?"

Before her question had completely crossed her lips the darkness was slinking away, replacing itself with the landscape of a village. She was standing on the side of a street. Houses stood before her. Somehow this place seemed familiar, but only in that passing way that it looked like many of the villages.

The world seemed so much brighter. Colors pulsed with life, and wisps of energy floated throughout the air. Creatures of different shapes and sizes scurried about. Spirit creatures. Like this spiritual world of the beyond these creatures were so vivid, so real. If she hadn't had been so enthralled by their mere existence some of them might have been menacing, and for good reason.

A whispering voice broke through her thoughts. The voice wasn't directed at her, but another. "Are you sure she's worthy of this assignment? What if she can't handle it? We can't afford to lose him."

Mihari raised an eyebrow in question, turning her head to look over her shoulder. A man and woman were crouched on the top of the fence as if it were just a dirt strip. Their balance was effortless. The man's form was mostly hidden behind a hood and a jacket with a high collar. From the moonlight shining above she could see a glint within the shade of the hood, glasses or sunglasses.

The woman hid nothing. She had a medium build, and seemed to be keeping herself very compact. A thick curtain of short brown hair hung around her face, but the bangs did not hide the bright gold eyes looking out at her. Folded on her back were two small feathery wings. One twitched as she watched Mihari. Like the man she was dressed all in black, but her clothes didn't cover her body.

"Trust me, _Ryoji_." The man replied in a casual manner. He didn't move, but the inflection begged for a hand gesture, even perhaps a bit of a grin. Who knew, he might have been grinning behind that jacket collar, teeth shining white into the night, and Mihari would never know. "She can do it."

"What am I doing?" Mihari asked.

The woman, Ryoji, groaned, "she doesn't even _know_ yet!"

"Well, she just died tonight! Give her a break." The man chuckled; the tenor melody was warm, but something made a chill run through Mihari.

"J…ust… _died_." Ryoji stammered. "Please tell me your kidding! She hasn't even been properly trained or not! I was trained _months_ before I was allowed to have a charge!"

_Charge?_ Mihari thought. _Trained?_ She frowned. She'd have this person know she was one of the most talented ninja her age in her village. In fact she was on a very special mission when… well, when she croaked. She frowned deeper.

The man pulled the woman closer to him and whispered into her ear. Mihari caught part of the whisper. "…Special…. only one…"

Whatever went along with this statement seemed to shut Ryoji up. She didn't look happy though. "If it must be done that way, but she is _not_ to leave his vigilance. And _you!_" She shoved a pointed finger in this man's direction. "You, Hae, should make sure she knows what she is doing. She'll be useless as a Guardian if she can't use her abilities."

"Excuse me! I'm a very competent fighter!" Mihari shouted. "Stop talking about me like I'm _not_ here! If you have a problem with me then take it up with _me!_"

"Kami save us!" The woman threw her hand to her forehead. "She's completely wrong for this job. We can't entrust her with him!" Mihari was about to reply to that when suddenly Ryoji shot her hand out toward her in a claw like motion and squeezed the air. In that same instant she felt like her 'body' was being crushed under some horrible weight, like Ryoji's fingers were crushing her. She gave a strangled cry.

"Ryoji!" Hae yelled. "Stop this. You're being ridiculous." He grabbed Ryoji by the shoulders and shook her.

With a smile touching on malicious Ryoji opened her hand and let Mihari go. "See, she can't even stop a simple soul grip."

"That will be enough." Hae sighed. "I already told you why she has to be the one. Its important."

"As I said. Teach her properly. And if he dies…you know what's at stake." She gave him that pointed finger again. Her wings twitched again before raising off her back. "I must attend to my charge. Something is off."

"Danger?" Hae inquired.

"No. He's just upset, and they've got their hands full over there with his little brother now."

"He's the one with the beast inside him?"

"Yes." Ryoji for once looked liked she might have some compassion in her. "The poor child. You've seen his life script, correct?"

"Yumei wants to change it, but they won't let her."

"So they're going to let his father turn him into a monster?" Ryoji was shocked.

Mihari was confused about what was going on, but she meant to catch every word and hold it for later. It might come in handy once she figured out things.

"I'm afraid so. But things will change in the thirteenth year."

"The other?"

"Yes. They'll battle, then become friends."

"They'll make good companions." Ryoji finally approved of something. "Farewell, Hae. Give everyone else my regards." She bowed her head in a respectful gesture and then vanished with a spiral of wind, her form becoming energy in the air. It flowed away from then, then disappeared completely.

"May I ask?"

"Not at this time." Hae said, dropping down from the fence beside her. He grabbed her arm and guided her to the house in front of them. "We must hurry. He's only been safe for a short time. They'll can't sense them this early, but I don't want to take chances."

"What can't sense who?"

"You have some instincts. You asked What instead of another who."

"Something is going to be after someone in that house?" Mihari exclaimed. "Am I to protect them?"

"Yes, but I must explain to you the great dedication that must exist for the assignment I am about to give you." He led her up to the door and – Mihari's stomach churned – _through_ it. "This mortal is one of the most important beings in this world right now. His soul is strong and pure, and one day he will be a great warrior. However, it is _our_ jobs to make sure he makes it that far. To be specific, it is _your_ job since he will become your charge."

"Whoa… he's a kid?"

"Infant."

"What!?"

"You know, a newborn. He isn't quite attuned to this plane yet, so its hard for them to find him. So before they start to come, we must get you settled and in place. It is important you are there to protect him."

"I don't want to be a babysitter! I'm a Shinobi!"

"You were a Shinobi!" He reminded. "Dead now, or don't you remember that slight change in density." If Mihari could see his face she would have sworn there would have been a smirk there. He was making fun of her.

"I don't have to do anything." She growled.

"You would let an innocent child die?"

"Can't you get someone else?"

"No. As I already explained to Ryo." He kept pulling her through the home. There was a man asleep in the main room, but she didn't have a change to take in any details before being dragged into a hallway. "You are the only one. Its rare for this to happen, but the two of you have a special type of energy that only allows others of your type to guide them. It is either you, or that child in there dies."

Mihari could be lazy at times, and she tried her hardest to weasel out of situations like this – she didn't like kids too much – but there was no way she would really turn her back on a baby. "Okay, where is he?"

Hae went through another doorway and let Mihari follow of her own volition. When she entered she saw a crib sitting in the corner. Hae stopped but Mihari walked forward and peeked inside. "This him?"

"Yes."

"He's a beautiful child."

"Indeed. He's got a tough life ahead of him, Mi, are you ready for this?"

"Only I can do it, right?" She blinked down at the sleeping baby. Something strange stirred inside of her and for the first time that night she realized it fully. She was dead. Never would she be able to enjoy something like this of her own. Protecting and guiding this child was the closest thing to motherhood she could ever experience. That filled her with a deep kind of sadness. "He'll be my everything."

Hae pulled back his hood finally and regarded her. His earnest expression of study fascinated her, as did the fact he was wearing sunglasses. A smile broke out on his face after a few moments. "Well, Mihari, over the next couple days I'll teach you the basics, then we'll find your true power and train you up a few more weeks."

"Basics of what?" She was still confused. She lightly brushed a finger over the child's cheek and he cooed in his sleep. She grinned to herself.

"Welcome, young one, to the great and divine ranks of the army of light. We are protectors, guides, soldiers, healers, and most important, spiritual entities of great power and integrity. Called by many names, we are, in laymen's terms, Guardian Angels, my dear."

Mihari froze. _An angel?_ Angelic was always the last thing anyone had ever described her as. An awkward smile curled her mouth. "Wow. That's… um… big."

"Very."

"When do I start?"

"Now. I have to go. A guardian's work is never done, and unfortunately, my charge will interrupt our time together often. Until I can return to fully explain everything I leave you with this: a great darkness is bursting forth from its restraints. That child and others like him are the only hope for the continuation of this world. If anything strange happens, if a shadow moves in the wrong direction, if you feel like something is wrong or off, call to me. I don't care if it turns out to be a freaking flea!"

"Yes. I will. One last question?"

"Shoot."

"What is his name?"

"Your charge?" Hae glanced at the child. "Akimichi Chouji."

Just as quick as Ryoji had vanished Hae was gone, leaving Mihari alone with her new charge. A queer feeling of disquiet settled inside her. She had no idea what to do, or where to start. She only knew she had a responsibility. "It's just you and me, kid." She whispered, leaning against the wall. "But don't worry. I'll always be here."

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**Author's Notes:** Ok. The prelude went a little bit longer than I originally intended, but I think its ok. I know its just some original characters right now, but give me a chapter and I'll have some canon in here. But as for now the next chapter will have to set up the background on what is going on. If you haven't guessed, everyone has their own guardians. All the "kids" will have their own special guides. We met three in this installment. Ryoji, Hae, and Mihari. We know Mihari's charge, but I'm curious, can you guess from the hints I gave who the others are? Just curious.

**Next Chapter:** Hae finally gets some time away from his charge and begins to train Mi to protect her own precious bundle. But soon she learns things could get serious! "What the crap is that? An evil demon shadow thing! I'll take care of that! ACK! It just bitch-slapped Hae! What do I do!?"

_Ja, until next time, Kazekage!_


	2. Chapter 1: Darkness Rising

I was going to make this chapter longer and have more stuff, but since I hadn't updated in a while I decided to just go ahead and post. I'm sorry its not longer. Chapters in the future will be longer than this. But without much further ado, this is the continuation. Prepare for confrontation! - Kaze

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**Chapter 1**

_Darkness Rising_

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The child was sleeping peacefully when Hae arrived back at his charge's home. The boy's father was slumped in a chair nearby, the sunglasses he normally wore outside the home tossed onto the dresser by the doorway. They had nearly fallen off and were clinging to the edge with a bit of one piece. Hae gave a gentle push to them and they scrapped back onto the top. The elder Aburame would not remember which state they were in when morning came. Hae sighed to himself and gave a quick glance over at his charge. Apparently his father had done the job of calming him down before Hae had arrived.

A brief flicker flashed through his mind of Ryoji and Muteki. How awful would it be to be the only ones who could truly be there for their charges? According to the two Suna-bound guardians their charges' father wasn't a kind man, and the two children didn't get the kind of loving attention that Hae's great great grandson got. Despite his clan's overwhelming sense of logic and calm there was love there in the family. Hearts never went without care here.

He leaned down and touched a hand to the child's tiny face. "Sleep well." He whispered, his mouth curving into a gentle smile. "Another one of your comrades is safe tonight."

"Talking to babies again, Hae?"

He chuckled at the amused voice. "Chisei? How nice of you to drop by." The woman who darkened his descendant's window was another guardian. Her shoulder-length pink hair was loose around her face and framed two jovial dark green eyes.

"I thought I would. I heard there's another within our ranks tonight. Poor girl, straight from the death-field right to work." She farced a bullet to the head and then a rope around the neck. "She'll want to kill herself again by the time she knows what's going on."

"I hope not." Hae answered seriously. He knew Chi was joking, but somehow he couldn't think lightly of Mihari and her charge. Few knew the truth about those two, and if they did it might cause problems, even among the guardians. So far only he, Ryoji, and Taikutsu knew the reality of their importance. He wasn't ready to tell Chi, and he'd rather _never _tell Chi.

"Do you think she's busy? I'd like to go say hi." Chi rolled a long strand of hair between her fingers. The habit bothered Hae, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Let her have this night to get used to her charge."

"You're right." Chi bounced down from the window. If she hadn't have been in the spiritual plane the impact of her feet on the rug would have woken the father. Hae frowned. "Who'd she get again?"

"The Akimichi child."

Chi raised one eyebrow. "He's one of the special ones, isn't he?"

Hae nodded. "He's more like us than them." He gestured to the two living Aburame clan members behind him.

"An immortal soul in a mortal body." Chi whistled, "welcome to the world, kiddo." Her tinkling laugh restored Hae's relaxed state somewhat. However annoying Chisei could be sometimes she always redeemed herself with her positive traits.

"I think there will be times in which he won't want to be in this world." Hae said solemnly.

"Yah, that's right," Chisei furrowed her brows; "you're the only ones who's seen his soul script, right? Why is that?"

"Not for me to tell, Chi." Hae replied, pulling off his glasses. He leaned forward to look at the windowsill for a moment.

"Ack! Hae, do you have to take those off around me!" Chi cried. "Your eyes always freak me out."

"Sorry." He put them back on. "Tell me something Chisei, did you open this window?"

"No. It was open when I got here."

"Yeah, it was when I got here, too." A note of suspicion had begun to creep into his tone. "Go to your charge, Chi. Just in case."

Chisei gave a quick salute and disappeared, a warning floating on the wind. "But careful, Hae! They're getting stronger, ya know!"

XXX

Mihari had been wrong about death, so she wasn't surprised when it turned out that her idea of sleep had been wrong, too. Despite how real and _alive_ she felt no weariness came to her. It was very late and all the excitement should have worn her down to nothing, but still her eyes remained open and the only sign of fatigue she showed was how tiresome hanging by the rafters with her feet was getting. Her bat-like position did serve for one positive, as she could easily watch most of the room and get a good view in observing her charge's sleep.

She didn't even know what something bad would look like. This supernatural world was so different than the normal one that something dangerous could look so mundane, while something simple could appear to be menacing. "This isn't as easy as it looks, kid." She said, hopping down to the floor. Her head spun momentarily from the sudden rush. "Not as good as sugar, but pretty dang close." She went to crack her neck when a figure in the doorway caught her eye.

_That wasn't there a second ago._

"_Guardian_." The sound was like a vile, whispering wind over cracked leaves. She barely made out the word, but it was there. A moment of confusion was followed by a moment of realization as this shadow figure said another rasped word. "_Die._"

"Oh, shit." She dodged as it came at her, a hand reaching to grasp her throat. She moved just in time. The hand that had reached for her had morphed into a blade. "I'm guessing you're the bad guy." She murmured to herself before he turned for her again.

The corner of the crib caught Mihari's sight and a deep dread rushed through her. She had to get this thing away from him. Anything could happen if they got into a battle, and she didn't want a stupid mistake to be the end. If she could lead him away long enough, she might get that sunglasses guy back…

"All right you bastard," Mihari growled. "You wanna fight someone, then come and get it…" She pulled a kunai from the pouch at her side and lunged. _I hope this works._

XXX

Hae found it in the corner, behind a couple empty boxes. "Just like I thought." He pushed the sunglasses further up on his nose as he crouched to study it. A flicker of his eyes regarded the broken protective seal again, and then moved back to the little spy. "Small fry in a big oil vat." He grimaced. "Are you going to make this easy on me, or am I going to have to do this the hard way?"

Realizing it had been seen the little shadow darted for better cover. Hae was right after it. _No you don't!_ His fingers grabbed at the tail of the worm-like shadow and tugged. Millions of tiny feet, barely the size of eyelashes wiggled desperately in the air as he lifted it up. "I hate you nosy little fuckers." He told it. "Always coming in and stirring up trouble. Low level jerk-offs." He gave a small flick to where he guessed its head was. "I'd let you go to pass on a message for me, but whatever information you've collected will have to stay secret, so you'll forgive me if I kill you."

With his free hand he reached for a kunai, but was unable to fully draw it as a pair of hands came down on his throat moments later. The tiny messenger worm dropped with a squish onto the floor and began to crawl away. Hae groaned in frustration as he watched it disappear behind the boxes again. He grabbed at the hands around his throat, trying to pry them off. He jabbed with the kunai straight down and met with something. Unfortunately it went straight through it and into his shoulder. He held back a cry as he ripped across, through both his and his attacker's flesh.

An angry screech filled the room and he was released. Hae kicked himself around to see what had assaulted him. _A shadow soldier._ He gritted his teeth in determination and rolled into a defensive position. Something was seriously wrong. Both a shadow messenger and a soldier? It couldn't be just a coincidence.

The scuttle of tiny feet drew his attention back to the window and the messenger was trying to pull its pudgy little form onto the sill to escape. He lobbed his bloodstained kunai at it. Its escape was halted, and so was all movement in its body. Alive or dead, the thing was pinned to the window. It was going nowhere.

While his gaze had been directed at the tiny threat the bigger one had regained balance and was back on the attack; teeth as sharp as razors sunk into his wounded shoulder and tried to tear a chunk out of him. Behind his glasses eyes flashed. He urged the pain away, attempting to clear his head for this battle.

He jerked out of the soldier's vice-like grip. He felt skin tear away, but he would heal. He couldn't be destroyed that way. Besides, pain was nothing compared to the protection of his precious family. He pulled two more kunai out and ran possible scenarios through his head. It was times like this he wished he could think as fast as Taikutsu, but it also wasn't the time to dwell on this fact.

A dark angry face dripping with blood raised in his direction, "_you lose._" A grating laugh reverberated from the walls and drilled into his ears.

"Incorrect. You lose." He stated. Stretching his arms out hundreds of insects invaded the space of the room. They swarmed around the shadow soldier like flies on rotten meat. "Get _out_ of my house"

The laugh just continued as it was overtaken by Hae's jutsu. "_Guardian scum. Too late. Too late." _

_Too late?_ Hae thought. _What could—_

"_**HAE!**_"

Mihari's voice rang through his head and a clouded vision of darkness and blood washed over him. You lose… it had said. It was just a decoy! Hae quickly recalled his bugs and made sure the soldier's corpse was really dead. He wished he could go ahead and move it, but he didn't have the time. The new kid needed his help. "Be right there, Mi." He tried to send to her, but something blocked his path. _Don't let it be what I think it is…_

XXX

Mihari stumbled to her feet again, the shadow's fist just barely missing her head as she rolled to a standing position. She felt dizzy and her arm hurt from where the creature's blade had sliced a good gash down it. Now back a few feet she could see this shadow thing more clearly. It looked more like a silhouette than anything real, yet this silhouette had an oily oozy texture in appearance and was much more malicious.

Atop its dark head looked to be a helmet or piece of armor. It was more of an extension of the creature than an add-on, including the shadow armor that seemed to cover its body. It looked like some dark, evil knight. "Fuck you, asshole! I'll show you to hit girls!" She went in for an attack and seemed to be doing pretty well until a so-thought well-placed kick was met with forceful hands. She was thrown all the way to the other side of the room. Her body slammed into the wall and slid down it, pain raging through her like the blood in her veins.

Her vision darkened for a moment and the room tilted. She tried to stand again but her legs wouldn't hold her, so she ended up on her knees, arms raised to prevent attack as well as administer one if the shadow came closer. Something wet and sticky crept down her forehead and almost dripped in her eye before she wiped it away. When she brought her hand down it was smeared with crimson. Blood. Just great, it made her bleed.

As she was thinking of possible revenge for it's shedding her blood it laughed. She would have taken nails on a chalkboard any day over the sound of that chilling laugh. She tumbled forward, her hands spread on the floor for balance. Everything inside felt like it wanted to melt away into nothingness. Fear, loathing, revulsion; they filled her with a desperate panic. Part of her just wanted to edge away into some safe corner until it was all over, and the other half burned with anger and pride.

She could see it moving away from her, and she knew where it was going. "Stay…away…from…him." She ordered. With each word was another attempt to climb to her feet. It just enjoyed her desperation even more. It lifted its hand that had become the blade above the child. "No!" Something compelled the last bit of strength she had to surface and she was up again. This time she latched onto her enemy, pulling her arms tight around its neck.

It tried to get her off, even going so far as to cut at her hands, but she held on. At the most it was a distraction for the thing. It couldn't reach its target if it had a pissed off guardian on his back. Finally it rammed her backwards into the wall. The sharp impact was enough to make her lose contact for a moment. She lashed out with one strong kick, shoving it away from her as she fell into a crouching position.

After that was a flurry of battle. For once the Taijutsu she'd learned in past studies was useful. A few good punches, some kicks, and other arrays of technique. She didn't even think, but allowed her body to make the moves for her. If she thought she might find this whole situation to be too much. She couldn't allow herself to run. She couldn't fail again. Her life was one thing, but this was a whole different shogi board.

She grew weary and was driven back until she was pushed on the baby's side of the room again. She was shocked by the fact he could still sleep, but she supposed that they couldn't be heard because they were on another plane. The shadow knight drew two long daggers out nowhere and threw them, each in succession. The first one hit Mihari in the shoulder, knocking her even further back, and the second was aimed at her charge.

The instinct of a guardian kicked in, and with speed she could have never reached as a mortal she made it between him and their assailant just in time. The dagger stuck firmly and painfully in her back, but she could still breath a sigh of relief. The child was safe for this round. It was only when she was yanked away and thrown again that things turned upside down. This time when she met the back wall her vision just didn't stutter, but violently swayed. The laughter was back, and this time she was afraid the thing earned it. Her sight was fading and she couldn't even lift her fingers much less her body.

She had almost forgotten to call, but before she lost consciousness she managed to cry out, "_**HAE!**_"

XXX

Hae arrived at the Akimichi residence at top speed. He entered the house at a run, but the eerie quiet inside made his blood freeze. His body stopped automatically for an instant, taking in the void that had become of this usually warm household. He scanned the area, taking in every small detail to get an idea what was going on. As he feared strands of electric black energy pulsed through the air in places. _A shadow knight, _he thought to himself. Horror spread over his features and he prayed he wasn't too late.

An angry shriek bounced off the walls and met his ears. It was still there! And by the sounds of it, the Knight had not gotten what it had come for. The sound of the creature pushed Hae into motion and he bolted once more toward the child's nursery. As he neared the room he was filled with a strange feeling. A peculiar light shone from under the door. It was a deep purple color mixed with striations of white or silver. He believed that somehow it was that light that was giving him this feeling.

Luckily there was no barrier up on the door and he was able to pass through it without any problems. That was a good sign. The worst it could be was a shadow knight. As bad as those were there were _worse_ enemies to contend with. A shudder ran through his soul as he passed through the door at the thought of what _those_ could be. They had to fight a high level mage (or at least that's what it called itself) when the Kazekage's youngest son had been born just a few months back.

He heard the shriek again the second he was inside the room. The light was so bright that Hae had to shield his eyes even with his sunglasses on. "What in the name of…" His voice was taken from him when he saw what had occurred. The knight as attempting to bust through a protective barrier around the child, but at every attempt he was thrown back. The light rolled almost like water and spiked like the sun. The purple and silver waves emitted so high an energy form that he was shocked that it was still being maintained.

He was surprised to see Mihari slumped against a wall, unconscious. That only proved his suspicions of the young Shinobi. Yes, she was definitely worthy of being a guardian. Even unawares her being protected the infant like it was her own. The energy was flowing from her body into the barrier, replenishing its strength from what had been destroyed during the attack.

As formidable as this barrier was it was still running off her energy and if he didn't do something quick it would deplete and the barrier would disappear. When that happened both Mihari and her charge would die.

The knight roared a challenge at Hae, finally realizing that he was not alone. Hae regarded it with a cold look, "don't underestimate us guardians, you worthless sliver of darkness. Unlike you we draw our powers from something more powerful than you can ever imagine, or feel."

"_Guardian! You will feel the pain of a thousand deaths before I rip your soul into oblivion!"_

"We will see about that."

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Sorry for the cliffhanger. I know it sucks. I will try to get out the next chapter as soon as I can. Schools finally out for me but I'm going to try to get a job, so it might take a little bit.

Thanks for the reviews!

Kaze

Next Chatper: Hae's battle begins. Just when he thinks he's going down a new shadow appears... will this one be friend of foe?

_Fans of the Nara clan rejoice._


End file.
